GCC's FMs Meet to Discuss Cooperation, Mideast PeaceForeign ministers of the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) would hold their regular 74th meeting Saturday and Sunday in Jeddah, in western Saudi Arabia.GCC secretary general, Jamil al-Hujailan, said in a statement that the meeting of the ministerial council would discuss important topics related to the joint cooperation of the GCC member states. It would also discuss the memorandums of the general secretariat on following up measures and moves taken by the Gulf states to carry out the decisions of the supreme council in its 20th session held in Riyadh, and the decisions taken by the joint working committees in the economic, media, and environmental areas. Hujailan pointed out that the ministerial council would review the relations between the member states and Iran, notably the efforts exerted by the troika-committee charged with formulating a new mechanism for starting direct talks between the United Arab Emirates and Iran regarding the dispute of three Gulf islands -- Abu Mussa and Lesser and Greater Tunbs. Both the UAE and Iran claim sovereignty over the three islands in the mouth of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. Also on the agenda were the developments related to Iraq's compliance with the U.N. resolutions pertaining to its aggression against Kuwait, the GCC head said. He said the Gulf foreign ministers would further discuss the peace process in the Middle East in the light of the recent developments, and emphasize on restoring the Arab legitimate rights and demanding Israel to implement the U.N. Security Council resolutions 242, 338 and 425 and the land for peace formula. According to the basic system of the GCC, the ministerial council comprising the foreign ministers of the six member states, should meet every three months and may hold emergency meetings upon any member's request supported by another member. |
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